FIGS. 5 and 6 of this specification show a connector which permits the electrical connection of a terminal fitting 41 and an electric wire 42. The electric wire 42 is inserted from above by means of a jig 44 into the terminal fitting 41 which is installed within a connector housing 40. The terminal fitting 41 employed in this type of connector has pressure contact blades 43 facing inwards from both sides of the central portion, the insulated electric wire 42 being pressed onto the blades 43 from above. When this pressing-in occurs, the core of the electric wire 42 and a portion of the pressure contact blades 43 come into contact since the blades 43 cut into the insulated covering.
However, when the electric wire 42 is pressed into the terminal fitting 41 from above, the pressure contact blades 43 are pushed in an outward direction (the directions shown by F in the diagram). As a result the pressure contact blades 43 change shape so as to widen, preventing an effective pressure contact state from being achieved.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problem into consideration, and aims to provide a connector and a pressure contact method for attaching an electric wire to a terminal fitting in which the widening of the terminal fitting is controlled at the time when the electric wire is pressed in.